Victim's twin in UK about to make her an aunt

The section of road where 27-year-old United Kingdom citizen Jane Bishop died after her cycle was hit by a truck on Tamaki Drive. Photo / Greg Bowker

Jane Bishop was looking forward to visiting her pregnant twin sister.

But that child will never know her aunt who was killed while cycling on Auckland's Tamaki Drive on Wednesday night.

The 27-year-old nurse from East Sussex was hit by a truck after she swerved to avoid a car door being opened.

She was in New Zealand temporarily and had been riding home when the accident happened. She died at the scene.

Last night, Auckland Transport removed four car parking spaces at the traffic pinch-point on the stretch of road where Ms Bishop died.

Many friends and her colleagues at inner-city medical centre CityMed - where she had worked since March - were mourning her loss.

Colleague Cerys Lang paid tribute to her friend, whom she called "an angel", and spoke about the plans Ms Bishop had made.

"She's got a twin sister back home and her sister is due to have the first baby of the family. Jane had booked to go home, she was going home for the birth.

"She was just so comforting and warming, just a fantastic and loving girl."

Ms Bishop was also to be a bridesmaid at her best friend's wedding, which is being held in the UK in May.

Her best friend - a UK citizen working here temporarily - is also a nurse at CityMed.

"She was due to go to Laura's wedding in May. She was going to be the bridesmaid. They were really close," Ms Lang said.

A group of friends at the medical centre had bought bikes in an effort to get fit for Laura's wedding.

The removal of the Tamaki Drive parking spaces comes four years after lobby group Cycle Action Auckland asked Auckland City Council to do just that, warning that a gap between a new raised median barrier and parked cars was too narrow to be shared by bikes and motor vehicles.

"This is an immediate step that will improve cycle safety," said the new regional transport agency's roads operations manager Andrew Allen.

Cycle Action past chairman Bevan Woodward praised Auckland Transport for moving so fast to remedy the hazard.

His group also hoped to maintain a dialogue with the agency "to resolve other potentially dangerous locations for cycling in Auckland".

- additional reporting: Mathew Dearnaley